5 questions to Detric Fox-Quinlan, Black Community Activist/Writer from @OccupyTheHood

– (Carlos Latuff) In recent past, the only racial motived uprising in the US was in Los Angeles in the 90’s. Now you have, in a single year, Ferguson and Baltimore. What has changed?

(Detric Fox-Quinlan) THE INTERNET IS WHAT HAS MADE IT DIFFERENT! Technology allows us to witness the abuse in real time. That same technology allows us to connect with people who are prideful in being black! When we love ourselves we fight against those who do not! What happened in 92 with Rodney King was based on the same premise of police brutality stemmed from white supremacy that we experience today…black people were angry that the officers who brutally beat Rodney King were not charged in the same manner that black people were angered by Darren Wilson not being charged for murdering Michael Brown. We see the government/the state as the enemy, and we want to fight back! There have been countless cases of excessive force, misconduct, and deaths of black men, women and children on behalf of the US police force in the 23 years since Rodney King, but the youth in Ferguson revived that “FIGHT” because in real time we watched them STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK! Baltimore is completely different animal than Ferguson, as they are a little more politicized.

– (CL) Taking this week’s TIME magazine cover, comparing today’s Baltimore riots with past racial uprisings in the US, what has changed, what hasn’t?

(DFQ) OPPRESSION hasn’t changed. What has changed is the countless number of black people who are willing to BECOME the oppressor of their people instead of working with their people to overtake a system. We are still slaves in a world pretending to be free. Covers like TIME Magazine remind us of how far we HAVE NOT COME.

– (CL) How has been the coverage of mainstream media about the recent protests?

(DFQ) The same as it has ever been. Propaganda filled with falsities. These media outlets loop the same 5 sec video to create fear among the people, insulting these young people animals for fighting back against an oppressive system. Not one black family in Baltimore owned a CVS. The same way not one black family owned QuickTrip in Ferguson. These states and corporations have been looting the lives of Black Americans for years. When these buildings burn people immediately speak to how they are destroying their own communities. NOTHING ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES WERE GREAT BEFORE THE RIOT! This was just the straw that broke the camel’s back! Killing Freddie Gray and then holding no one accountable is just another reason for the black community to fight back. NOT THE ONLY REASON–ANOTHER REASON!

– (CL) Malcolm X, Black Panthers…Black resistance sounds like an old picture. Do you think now with Ferguson and Baltimore, a new generation of resistance is born?

(DFQ) YES and I think more and more people will be activated in this fight. It’s a new era, but unfortunately we are fighting the same old fight. WE ARE STILL NOT FREE! The war against black people has been going on longer than I have been alive. I’m sure absolute change will come, but it may not come in my lifetime. However, I’m willing to support, advise, and fight along with the youth in our fight, because the fight is all of ours win

– (CL) Ethiopian Jews are protesting against police brutality in Israel, Black community from Brazilian favelas are confronting police brutality too. Do you think you Black people from the US could now build ties with Black people struggle from other parts of the world?

(DFQ) Absolutely and I hope that will be the case. I hope we will use the technology to communicate and teach each other about what’s working and what’s not working in our fight. What I’ve learned is that the fight is the same no matter where we are in the world. Black people’s fight to remove the foot from our back, the noose from our neck is the same no matter where you go. From Ethiopia to Brazil to the United States, being black is a FIGHT that we will have to dig our heels in and RESIST to win. I always remind people that I have no interest in being equal to my oppressor. I don’t want what the white man has…I just want to be able to freely move about a world that is just as much mine as anyone without restriction or pause or harassment from any other people. I want my people to be FREE TO LIVE.